She told the hospital’s board that although the public response was generally positive, “that received from Kingston on behalf of all our commissioners was non-committal, indicating that they were unable to provide a more positive response in light of the south west London whole systems review”.

A spokesman for NHS Kingston said: “As part of the Healthcare for London programme, we are looking at a number of options to improve local services, and until this work is finished, unfortunately we cannot take a position on the hospital’s application to become a foundation trust.

“We completely support the principle of provider organisations becoming foundation trusts, and we are committed to working with the hospital to deliver the best possible services for Kingston residents.”